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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. hand — help
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. cold — not warm
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. chip — for betting
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. pound — a weight
  12. cold — an illness
  13. chip — to eat
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. branch — a division
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. craft — boats
  18. hand — in cards
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. craft — a skill
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. chip — in a computer

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com